The invention relates to the field of electrical power conversion and control, across a wide range of current and voltages; more particularly, it relates to method and apparatus for electronically implemented power control, more particularly, those implemented with switch mode power conversion techniques.
An electrical power conversion circuit is a circuit in which electrical power is changed so that a power source with a voltage or current can serve a load requiring a different voltage or current. In switch mode conversion circuits and power conversion techniques, power is typically changed from a supply that is higher in current or voltage to serve a load requiring lower current or voltage, or from a supply that is lower in voltage or current to a load requiring higher voltage or current. Where high conversion efficiency is made possible by design of the circuit, power output is substantially equal to power input. Where voltagexe2x80x94ampere products (VA) are close to the same at both output and input, and assuming a fixed VA at the input, a reduction in voltage at a resistive load is necessarily accompanied by an increase in load current, and vice-versa.
There are three basic topologies of switch mode power converters. They include step-down (buckxe2x80x94see FIG. 1), step-up (boost), inverting (including flyback) converters, and xe2x80x9cdualsxe2x80x9d of these three. A xe2x80x9cdualxe2x80x9d version of any of the three basic class devices can sometimes be effected by a simple transform as follows: series inductors become parallel capacitors; and parallel capacitors becomes series inductors. Other transforms can be more involved, and the above transforms are provided as illustrative only, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Dual topologies are known to have the following characteristics: a) discontinuous currents to and from the voltage sources become continuous currents to and from voltage sources; b) the DC transfer function (output voltage vs. input voltage vs. duty cycle) remains the same; and c) the dual input and output inductors can be combined together in one magnetic structure.
In all such topologies, at least with respect to DC functionality, each converter typically consists of two switches, an inductor, and input and output filters. Nearly all conventional converters are some derivation or combination of these topologies and their duals.
Output voltage regulation in these known converter topologies then is achieved by varying the duty cycle of the switches. FIG. 1 shows a simple buck converter with ideal switches. In DC conversion circuits of the type generally known as buck or boost regulators, the two solid state switches typically employed are reciprocally and cyclically operated so that one switch is xe2x80x9conxe2x80x9d or conducting, while the other is xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d or non-conducting, and vice-versa. Thus as the duty cycle of the modulation of the two switches is varied, so is the voltage (or current) conversion ratio varied between source and load. For example, in a buck topology, if S1 is modulated at a given duty cycle D and S2 is modulated exactly opposite S1 (S2 closed when S1 is open and vice versa) then output voltage is given by the formula:
Vout=Vin*D.
Other known formulae similarly apply to other respective known regulator classes, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. This relationship holds for either polarity of Vin. Theoretically then, alternating voltage on the input would manifest itself on the output according to the same relationship, assuming the use of xe2x80x9cidealxe2x80x9d switches. However, as a matter of practice, in the absence of such ideal switches, conventional single stage converter implementations do not function in AC to AC conversions.
In conversion circuits used to drive reactive loads such as induction motors, bi-directional energy flows and other four quadrant operation must also be accommodated. Simple power transformers are in common usage, though necessarily restricted to AC power conversion; however, they grow heavy and bulky as power levels increase, and they are by nature not readily variable in their conversion ratios without some kind of tap changing modification.
There has been substantial work done in the area of AC converters, but known methods suffer for one or more reasons. For instance, some employ simplistic control schemes that lead to a variety of failure modes in the switches.
In all real world switches, there exist timing delays and finite rise/fall times, both of which vary from device to device and over varying operating conditions. If care is not taken in a conventional two switch converter as outlined above, both switches could conduct simultaneously, with attendant high currents and excessive power dissipation which can destroy the switches.
Power transistors of some of the types commonly employed as switches in converter topologies (and other semiconductors similarly employed) are known to store significant amounts of charge, and if a control voltage is applied to turn one transistor off as the control voltage is being applied to turn the other transistor on, the flow of current in the first transistor would continue for sometime after the turn off control, and simultaneous conduction in both transistors would occur to cause a short across the power source, with potentially damaging current flow through the switches.
A simultaneous xe2x80x9coffxe2x80x9d condition for both transistors is also a problem, for if the first transistor is turned off before the second transistor is turned on, the series inductor in such regulating circuits (in series with the opening switch) would discharge, or force current, through the opening switch and subject the switch to potentially damaging voltage.
One known technique for dealing with the first phenomenon is the addition of a switching delay, or dead time, into the turn-on of each switch, after turn-off of the other switch. Generally, a value for the length of the switching delay is chosen to insure that one switch is completely off before the other is enabled. But in the AC circuit supposed above, that then results in both switches being disabled at the same time. And as discussed above, if any current is flowing in the output inductor L1, then the result of both switches simultaneously disabled is a voltage spike across the switches which will likely destroy them. This spike typically has to be clamped via some snubber or clamping network, but that then results in excessive clamp power dissipation and excessive switching losses in the switches. For an example of a manifestation of this problem, and an example of this limiting solution, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,311 to Peterson, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by this reference into this disclosure as background as if fully set forth.
Another approach to the problems described above has been through the use of resonant switching circuits that employ zero voltage or current switching techniques. These are sometimes referred to as xe2x80x9csoft switchingxe2x80x9d, or zero voltage switched, techniques. Converters employing these techniques do tend to be more efficient in theory than the xe2x80x9chardxe2x80x9d switching circuits using snubbers mentioned above, but some topologies have proven difficult to control, where the resonant circuit becomes increasingly unstable at lower power ranges. In addition, such resonant circuits also have more narrowly defined operating conditions (i.e., minimum and maximum current limitations), and are therefore less robust for industrial applications, and these circuits typically trade switch losses for increased conduction losses, and require bulky resonant componentry.
Switching losses into an inductive load, as encountered in conventional circuits, are generally proportional to the product of turnoff time, peak current, peak voltage, and switching frequency, and can be calculated from the well known formula:
Psw=0.5 toff*Vpeak*Ipeak*Frequency
where Psw is the switching loss expressed in units of power. In a snubbed or clamped circuit, there is always a voltage rise across the snubber during dead time as long as either current or voltage is non-zero. As a result, there is always a significant switch or snubber dissipation. In addition, during high current surge conditions, the snubber may not be able to adequately limit the voltage rise, leading to potentially catastrophic device failure.
These known circuits therefore have significant limits in capability of conversion, at least in terms of output power, efficiency, reliability and cost. This is especially the case with present high power semiconductor technology where higher power and lower cost devices are also generally the slowest, and therefore have inherent and unacceptably high switching losses.
Recently, a variety of other topologies have been suggested for direct AC/AC converters (also sometimes simply referred to as electronic transformers). These suggested topologies have generally fallen into two types: xe2x80x9czero voltage switchedxe2x80x9d (ZVS) a.k.a. xe2x80x9csoft switchedxe2x80x9d; and traditional switchmode topologies, a.k.a. xe2x80x9chard switchedxe2x80x9d. In those topologies suggested for use in hard switched converters, it appears that the power switches are implemented either as two bidirectional switches or as four unidirectional switches. A control scheme for a two switch converter referred to above is typically some form of simple modulation (such as pulse width modulation or PWM), which schemes make use of dead times, or delays, as discussed above.
Where these suggested topologies are implemented with four switches, it appears the corresponding suggested control schemes diverge from one another. Venturini describes a scheme for switch control as a xe2x80x9cstaggered commutationxe2x80x9d, while Lipo discusses a similar method. In both of these descriptions, all four switches are required to be controlled at high speed, with both critical timing (including dead times) and level shifting required from a common controller. Cho briefly describes a different scheme which modulates two switches at high speed, but does not define any required dead times or transitions (if any are needed). Villaca employs two bidirectional, zero voltage switching (ZVS) switches operating from a simple pulse width modulator.
These suggested control schemes have a number of points in common: 1) they all have multiple switches operating simultaneously at high frequencies; 2) the timing between these switches is highly critical, in order to avoid cross conduction or voltage spikes from the output inductor; 3) maximum duty cycle may have to be limited to accommodate what may be required as fixed timing delays, and circuit response time to output overload can be consequently dangerously delayed; 4) they all apply high frequencies voltage waveforms to the output inductor, which frequencies are essentially the same from no load to full load, which results in a fixed core loss in the inductor with attendant significant power loss even at light load or no load operation, thus reducing conversion efficiency at light load with attendant increased electricity costs; 5) by employing an unchanging high frequency waveform, the switching frequency AC current component in the output inductor is also similar from no load to full load condition, so that at light load significant current is left circulating through power components like transistors, diodes, and filter capacitors, all with attendant significant power loss and reduced light load conversion efficiency and increased electricity costs; 6) they all modulate multiple switches at high frequencies, which leads to high average current requirements for control circuitry, especially with large semiconductor power devices like IGBT""s MOSFET""s, BJT""s and MCT""s.
In another vein, three phase power has been the mainstay of electrical power distribution for nearly a century, with three wire (also known as xe2x80x9cdeltaxe2x80x9d) distribution being common for most situations.
Various methods are currently employed to regulate three phase power, including tap selection, magnetic synthesizers, ferroresonant transformers, inverters and the like. A circuit has been described by Mozdzer and Bose that is different from those listed above.
Other known uses for power controllers are so called static VAR compensators, which effectively add or subtract inductance or capacitance from a system, and also adaptive VAR compensators and xe2x80x9cdynamic voltage restorersxe2x80x9d. These known devices have shortcomings in delivering a variable capacitance or variable inductance to a system, as has been reported in the literature.
AC power quality is best and electrical operating efficiency is greatest when the line current is sinusoidal in wave form and in phase with the line voltage. It is well known however that electrical elements such as reactive loads shift the line current in the mains out of phase with the line voltage. This phase shift is commonly defined in terms of xe2x80x9cpower factorxe2x80x9d, or more specifically, xe2x80x9cdisplacement power factorxe2x80x9d, where displacement power factor (referred to hereafter for sake of simplicity as PF or as power factor) is given by the well known relationship:
PF=cos xcex8
where xcex8 is the degree of phase shift xe2x80x9cleadxe2x80x9d (or xe2x80x9clagxe2x80x9d, as the case might be), also known as the phase angle, between the fundamental voltage and current. A perfect, or in-phase, relationship is equated to 1.0, while increasing degrees of phase shift are represented by power factors decreasing below unity. Power factor is also sometimes defined as the ratio of xe2x80x9ctruexe2x80x9d power (in watts) to apparent power (in volt-amperes, or VA).
Power factor is therefore a measure of relative efficiency of power transfer and energy usage, and becomes more critical with the use of heavy draw machinery and the like, such as motors. Typical induction motor power factors can range from very low at no load to around 0.85 to 0.90 (xe2x80x9cperfectxe2x80x9d is 1.00) at full load. Electric utility services typically add surcharges to customers with power factors below 0.90. In addition, power factor can be highly variable, depending as it does on the instantaneous total load on the power supply. Power factor correction (xe2x80x9cPFCxe2x80x9d) then is therefore routinely applied to compensate for bad power factor situations and, through better utilization of the existing power distribution system, to reduce the need for capital intensive additions to the power grid. Power factor correction is conventionally accomplished generally by having a series of capacitors across the line, and incrementally switching the various capacitors in and out with thyristors or relays.
Other conventional PFC techniques consist of a bridge of transistors that operate with a storage bank of capacitors or batteries (for example, see Wilkerson U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,726). A major disadvantage of this conventional PFC technique is that the output switches always switch to and from the DC storage bank voltage, which is above the peak power line voltage. As a result, switching losses are quite high.
Known automatic power factor correctors are bulky, slow and complex, and therefore only practical for large motors and groups of smaller motors. Even then, it is only the xe2x80x9csystem averagexe2x80x9d PF that is corrected, and studies show that it is preferable to correct PF at the load, rather than at the system level. For the above reasons, and other as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, it is not practical to connect conventional PFC equipment at each load (motor). This is significant in that 60% of the electrical energy produced at this time is consumed by electric motors of 5 HP or greater in size (fully 80% of industrial consumption of electricity is for motors). And this at a time when annual electricity production is valued in excess of $52 billion! Any significant reduction in electrical consumption by these motors and/or increase in their efficiency of consumption would result in huge dollar savings.
In addition, other elements such as rectifying power supplies and SCR""s, and other non-linear sources such as computers, switchmode power supplies, welders, inverters, controlled bridge rectifiers, fluorescent lights and other lights requiring a ballast, actually alter the sinusoidal waveform of the AC line current. These non-linear devices typically only draw current when the voltage is at its peak, thus causing the harmonic distortion. This is not how the power grid was designed to work.
The resulting non sinusoidal current produced by these nonlinear loads can be mathematically resolved into a xe2x80x9cfundamentalxe2x80x9d sine wave current at line frequency, with a number of harmonic waves at multiples of line frequency, with the fundamental producing the power in the load, while the so called xe2x80x9charmonicsxe2x80x9d only increase heat losses and decrease the system""s power factor (that is, they generally lower the efficiency of the distribution system) with no net contribution to power in the load. EPRI (Electrical Power Research Institute) estimates predict that by the year 2010, 60% of all electrical loads will be such nonlinear, solid state electronic loads, so that the majority of all future electrical loads will consist of unwanted harmonic generators.
This is already even true for conventional PFC techniques that, in addition to other noted disadvantages, also react themselves to exacerbate harmonic problems, amplify circuit resonances, and even cause xe2x80x9cringingxe2x80x9d on the mains when capacitors are switched. This ringing can cause malfunctioning and shutdowns in adjustable speed motor drives and other electronic equipment.
As discussed above, each non linear device produces its own distorted waveform composed of varying harmonic components. Each device allows current to pass during a portion of the voltage sine wave and blocks the flow of current during another portion of the sine wave. To make matters worse, phase controlled devices such as adjustable speed drives (SCR) generate harmonic currents with amplitudes varying as a function of load change. In addition, the continued trend in government regulation appears to be towards increasing energy efficiency, and is eventually expected to mandate harmonic cleanup at the source. All of this suggests that power quality (PQ) issues are a major concern, and that there is a clear need for PFC and PQ techniques that more efficiently use power without also generating harmonic distortion themselves.
It has been suggested that the variety of power quality problems, now extant and steadily growing in magnitude and variety, are all actually summed within a power distribution system, producing effects such as: deterioration of electronic equipment performance, and continuous or sporadic computer and other microprocessor malfunctions; tripping protection circuitry of adjustable speed drives; overheating of neutral in three phase systems, leading to neutral burnout; overheating and premature failure of transformers, even when the transformer rating appears otherwise adequate; overheating of motors; nuisance tripping of circuit breakers; telephone interference; and PFC capacitor fuse blowing.
In addition, the need for improved power regulation and/or power conversion is felt in other industries as well. For instance, in the motion picture and entertainment industries, conventional light source dimming technologies produce an audible 60 Hz hum in large studio lamps. The conventional technology generally applied is dimming by means of phase angle fired triacs, which limit the energy to the lamps by basically opening the circuit to the lamps for a given percentage of every half cycle (see example of resultant broken waveform in FIG. 2). This scheme is relatively simple to implement, but is electrically very noisy, which leads to additional design problems and additional implementation costs. A means of smoothly and quietly dimming such lamps would be of great use.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a power controller that is low in electrical and audible noise, applicable to both low and high power applications, having high tolerance for inductive loads, light in weight, digitally controllable, and fast in response time.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a power converter having output power, efficiency, reliability and cost superior to known topologies.
It is another object of the invention to provide a power converter with reduced total switching losses.
It is another object of the invention to provide a power converter that during high current surge conditions and reactive currents is not subject to switch device failure due to voltage rise.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a power converter adapted for four quadrant operation and bi-directional power flow, with respect to input and output voltage and current.
It is another object of the invention to provide a converter/controller topology that addresses the disadvantages of conventional active PFC techniques.
It is another object of the invention to provide a controller topology that can be used as a continuously variable capacitive load.
It is another object of the invention to provide a controller topology that can be used as a continuously variable inductive load.
It is another object of the invention to provide a controller topology that can be used as a continuously variable resistive load.
It is another object of the invention to provide a relatively inexpensive, fast response, self-dampening power factor corrector of size and bulk sufficiently small to be practical for the majority of motors in current and future use, and which does not contribute to line harmonic problems or problems of system resonance and ringing caused by capacitor switching.
It is another object of the invention to provide a power controller for assuring best power quality and greatest electrical operating efficiency by controlling an AC source to provide current and/or voltage outputs that are sinusoidal in waveform and in phase with each other.
It is another object of the invention to provide a power controller for neutralizing line harmonics.
It is another object of the invention to provide a power controller for successfully addressing any one or more of the following power quality concerns: deterioration of electronic equipment performance, and continuous or sporadic computer and other microprocessor malfunctions; overheating and premature failure of transformers, even when the transformer rating appears otherwise adequate; overheating of motors; nuisance tripping of circuit breakers; telephone interference; and PFC capacitor fuse blowing.
It is another object of the invention to provide voltage regulation or a power line conditioner to mitigate voltage swells and sags, and overvoltage and under voltage conditions.
It is another object of the invention to provide a means of power regulation (voltage and/or current) that has the characteristic of being low impedance source with respect to a load.
It is another object of the invention to provide a means of controlling power on single or multiphase distribution systems, including the majority of known power system frequencies, such as 50, 60 and 400 Hz.
It is another object of the invention to provide a means of controlling a power converter which allows for nearly instantaneous regulation, among the benefits of which is that the device is non self destructive in overcurrent situations.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a means of dimming lamps in such a way as to produce no audible hum.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a system meeting any one or a combination of all of the needs summarized above.
These and such other objects of the invention as will become evident from the disclosure below are met by the invention disclosed herein.
The invention addresses and provides such a system. The invention represents means to quickly, precisely, and remotely convert AC power with losses that are lower than conventionally available technology can provide. It also represents a compact, efficient, and low cost device for processing AC power, and that is simple and reliable and low in harmonic distortion; applicable to both low and high power applications, having high tolerance for reactive and bi-directional loads, light in weight, digitally controllable, and fast in response time.
Application of the invention to solutions to power quality problems, especially solutions requiring variable amplification, is especially beneficial in that the invention is the only system that effectively provides full four quadrant operation in a single stage AC to AC power conversion device, particularly with respect to reactive loads, and which utilizes four independently controllable switches.
The invention provides an electrical power controller (also sometimes referred to herein as a regulator or converter) apparatus or device for controlling or regulating an AC voltage or current to a load. The voltage may be in single or multiple phase (such as conventional three phase) configurations. The controller device has four independently controllable switches and at least one inductor for each input line (or phase) to be regulated, all in one of several otherwise conventional power regulator topologies, such as buck, boost, inverted or isolated converter/regulators or duals of these topologies. A corresponding regulation or conversion scheme may thus be implemented depending upon the position of the inductor with respect to the switches and the input voltage, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
The controller also has a logic control block. The logic control block is comprised in part of a polarity detector preferably in parallel with the input voltage. The polarity detector preferably has two outputs, each of which is the reciprocal of the other (inverted with respect to each other), although this may be accomplished in a number of functionally equivalent ways, such as through use of one or more inverters, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. The logic control unit also has a duty cycle modulator with two reciprocal outputs. Each switch is then separately modulated by these detector and modulator outputs under logical control so that some combination of one or more switches is always electrically conducting, or xe2x80x9cclosedxe2x80x9d. In other words, so there is never a combination of all four switches that is open, except of course when the device is not in operation (turned off or out of the circuit).
Each switch thus turns off only into the instantaneous line voltage (ILV), rather than switching to a storage bank voltage or DC rail. Since the ILV can be as low as zero, losses are thereby reduced to the extent the ILV is lower than a storage bank voltage or that of a DC rail Typically, this can save 36% or more in switching losses alone, even for resistive loads (with greater savings possible for reactive loads).
A variation of this device has 4 OR gates fed by outputs from the polarity detector and the duty cycle modulator through turn off and turn on delays, respectively, such that first and third OR gates each receive as a first input a first output from the polarity detector, and second and fourth OR gates each receive as a first input a second output from the polarity detector; and such that first and second OR gates receive as a 2nd input a first output from the duty cycle modulator, and third and fourth OR gates receive as a 2nd input a second output from the duty cycle modulator. The output from each OR gate controls or modulates or drives one switch or gate each. Preferably, the switch sources of each pair of switches are tied together, but do not have to be in some alternate embodiments.
In preferred embodiments of the controller device, at least one of, and preferably all of, the switches are electronically controllable, though alternate, non-electrical, implementations may occur to those skilled in the art, including partially or fully manual control schemes, and control schemes involving conducted light optics, such as fiber optical control means. Preferably each switch is a solid state switching device, with a diode poled to have a sense opposite to the switch, in parallel across the source and drain of the switch, and the diodes of a pair of such switches are opposite in sense to each other. The switches are preferably transistors, such as BJT (bipolar junction transistors), IGBT, or MOSFET transistors, or even thyristors such as MCT or GTO.
One embodiment of the controller device has two switches in series with each other, though preferably poled in the opposite sense from each other, and connected with the inductor to one input, and two switches in series with each other, also preferably poled in the opposite sense from each other, and connected with the inductor to the return. In other words, wherein a first pair of switches is connected between the input and the inductor, and a second pair of switches is connected between the inductor and return.
As employed in this disclosure, the term xe2x80x9cpoled in the opposite sensexe2x80x9d when referring to electronic devices that resist or obstruct the flow of current in one direction (usually under a set of defined conditions), but not in the other, means they are placed so that current flow is not blocked in the same direction in both devices; in other words, their xe2x80x9cpolesxe2x80x9d are oppositely arranged, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
In another aspect of the invention, there is separately provided a logic controller for controlling the duty cycle of a power controller. The logic controller is particularly adapted for controlling a power controller device that has four independently controlled separate switches. The logic controller has a polarity detector in parallel with the input voltage that has two outputs, and it has a duty cycle modulator that also has two outputs. Each of the outputs of the polarity detector and of the duty cycle modulator are inverted with respect to one another (reciprocal). The controller is employed in such a way that each of the four switches to be controlled is separately modulated so that some combination of one or more switches is always closed. Turn off or turn on delays may optionally be employed.
Preferred embodiments of the controller device employ four OR gates fed by outputs from the polarity detector and the duty cycle modulator through optional turn off and turn on delays, respectively, such that first and third OR gates each receive as a first input a first output from the polarity detector, and second and fourth OR gates each receive as a first input a second output from the polarity detector; and such that first and second OR gates receive as a second input a first output from the duty cycle modulator, and third and fourth OR gates receive as a second input a second output from the duty cycle modulator. Output from each OR gate modulates or drives one switch or gate each.
In another aspect of the invention, a controller chooses its quadrant modes based upon input voltage and error circuit output. A positive input voltage determines that either Quadrant I or Quadrant II will be employed, while a negative input voltage determines that either Quadrant III or Quadrant IV will be employed. The selection of Quadrant I vs. Quadrant II or Quadrant III vs. Quadrant IV is dependent upon the error circuitry. The error circuitry compares output voltage to the reference and determines both the required direction of current flow and the required amount of modulation by way of the error amplitude output to maintain controller output regulation. Current can be in either direction for any particular Quadrant or transition without damaging the controller.
This AC electronic power controller is implemented in three parts: 1) a voltage polarity detector senses the polarity of the input voltage and feeds the signal into the Control Logic section; 2) a control input signal is fed into a modulator section (such as a PWM) which converts the input signal into a modulated digital pulse train, which is in turn fed into the Control Logic section (this control input may be fixed, varied and/or sourced by either an external source or error amplifier or corrector of a such types as will be known to those skilled in the art); 3) the Control Logic then takes the polarity and control input signals and implements the control scheme tabularly summarized in Table 2.
In preferred embodiments, step 2) above is further particularized in that a control input is fed to a programmable reference which in turn produces a variable sine wave reference output (in phase with the input voltage) that is fed into an error correction circuit which compares the reference output to the converter output and provides a resulting signal to the modulator. The logic scheme may be implemented by any of a number of methods as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, including microcontroller, PAL, or discrete logic. Output from the Control Logic section is then fed into the level shift circuits, which in turn interface the power switches.
This preferred control scheme has a number of advantages over known and suggested control schemes when applied to the power controller of the invention.
1. Since no more than one switch is in operation at high frequency in any given mode, critical timing between or among the various switches in controllers using other schemes is eliminated.
2. There is no need for any kind of delay or dead time to be implemented during high frequency switching operation, resulting in greater maximum duty cycle and/or smoother operation from 0% to 100% duty cycle. In addition, overload shutdown response is immediate (or at least substantially reduced), with no delays to step through before shutting down.
3. The power controller may be operated discontinuously during no load and light load conditions, resulting in reduced duty cycle for these conditions, with beneficially reduced core loss in the output filter inductor. Light load efficiency is significantly improved, with decreased electricity costs.
4. This same discontinuous operation capability also reduces the high frequency current component in the output filter inductor, in turn reducing the amount of recirculating current switched and conducted by the switches and diodes of the converter during light load operation, thus further reducing power loss and further enhancing light load efficiency.
5. Since no more than one switch is modulated at any given time, average total switch drive power is greatly reduced.
The invention also provides a variable inductor, a variable resistor and a variable capacitor. The variable capacitor of the invention can be made non-resonating, and implementation of these devices appear as linear loads and therefore do not degrade the power factor of the system in which they are employed (i.e., they are xe2x80x9ctransparentxe2x80x9d). The variable capacitor is applicable to an automatic PFC system. These devices are novel with respect to known static VAR compensators, adaptive VAR compensators and dynamic voltage restorers, and implemented as a combination of the power controller of invention and a capacitor connected across an output and a return of the controller whereby the combination functions as a variable capacitor. The power controller of the invention may also be combined with an inductor connected across an output and a return of the controller whereby the combination of controller and inductor functions as a variable inductor.
The invention also provides several method aspects. In one embodiment, a low impedance method of power regulation or conversion is provided whereby an amplitude of an input voltage waveform is varied linearly, without respect to its frequency, with or without changing its characteristic waveform, to produce a proportional output voltage to a load, employing only a single stage conversion (i.e., no intermediate DC voltage or current link).
In a variation of this method, the above referred to voltage amplitude variation is accomplished by variable duty cycle modulation switching of an input voltage through an inductor in a manner otherwise consistent with conventional power regulation topology.
A preferred method for accomplishing the variable duty cycle modulation follows these steps: 1) sensing in real time a polarity of the input voltage to derive a pair of polarity signals that are inverted with respect to each other; 2) varying the duty cycle of a modulator, in accordance with and in proportion to the desired modification of the amplitude, the modulator having two outputs inverted with respect to each other; 3) feeding a polarity signal and a modulator output signal to an OR gate, where each signal has a duration, and the beginning of the duration of the duty cycle modulating output signal is delayed, and the end of the duration of the polarity signal is also delayed; 4) using the OR gate logical output to control a switching device for the variable duty cycle modulation of the input voltage. These method steps 1-4 are then preferably iterated separately for each of four OR gates, and the step of variable duty cycle modulation switching of the input voltage includes the step of modulating the switching during operation so that all of the switches in the controller of the invention are not ever electrically non-conducting (or xe2x80x9copenxe2x80x9d) at the same time (except when there is no power applied to the circuit).
Another aspect of the invention is a variable power factor corrector that has a capacitor in parallel with the load to be corrected on an AC line, and a line driven variable voltage output in series with the capacitor for varying the voltage to the capacitor, so as to vary the amount of capacitance reflected through the power controller onto the AC line. In corresponding manner, a line driven variable voltage output is employed in conjunction with other appropriate components to create variable resistors, tuned LC circuits, and variable inductors.
Preferred embodiments of the power factor corrector have the variable voltage output implemented in an electrical power controller, regulator, or converter, for regulating an AC input voltage. Preferred embodiments of such a controller have two pairs of switches, for a total of four switches, and an inductor, and the pairs of switches and the inductor are preferably in one of several conventional power regulator topologies such as buck, boost, or inverted (or some dual). The controller also has a logic controller as described above, so that each switch is separately modulated in such a way that some combination of one or more switches is always closed, or in other words so there is never a combination of all four switches that is open.
A preferred power factor corrector also has a current sensor in series with a load on the AC line. Both line voltage and current sense signals are fed into a phase delay detector that determines the phase delay between the AC line voltage and the load current. A power factor error amplifier is employed that is fed by an output of the phase delay detector, and the amplifier feeds a signal to the power controller logic controller, to automatically maintain a selected power factor correction on the line.
The power factor corrector may also advantageously employ a current sensor in series between the power controller and the load, and a harmonic error amplifier fed by an output of the current sensor, so that the amplifier feeds a signal to the power controller logic controller for auto resonance suppression, harmonic dampening and/or load current shaping.
In a variation of the power factor corrector, a plurality of capacitors and a plurality of power controllers are employed for variable and automatic power factor correction in a multiphase AC system. In a three phase variation, a first power controller is preferably in parallel between a first AC line and a third AC line, and a second power controller in parallel between a second AC line and a third AC line. At the same time, a first capacitor is preferably connected between the output of the first power controller and the third AC line, a second capacitor is connected between the output of the second power controller and the third AC line, and a third capacitor is connected between the output of the first power controller and the output of the second power controller.
Another variation of the power factor corrector employs a first power controller in parallel between a second AC line and a third AC line, with the power controller fed by a signal derived from a first AC line. A second power controller is in parallel between the first AC line and the second AC line, with the power controller fed by a signal derived from the third AC line. A third power controller is in parallel between the first AC line and the third AC line, with the power controller fed by a signal derived from the second AC line.
Another method aspect of the invention provides for power factor correction by reflecting or introducing a continuously variable capacitance onto a power line to correct displacement power factor, where the capacitance is variable by means of a voltage from the power line varied by a power control methodology.
This method preferably employs a power control methodology based on variable duty cycle modulation with the following steps: 1) sensing in real time a polarity of the input voltage to derive a pair of polarity signals that are inverted with respect to each other, 2) varying the duty cycle of a modulator, in accordance with and in proportion to the desired modification of the amplitude, the modulator having two outputs inverted with respect to each other; 3) feeding a polarity signal and a modulator output signal to an OR gate, where each signal has a duration, and the beginning of the duration of the duty cycle modulating output signal is delayed, and the end of the duration of the polarity signal is also delayed; 4) using the OR gate logical output for the variable duty cycle modulation of the input voltage.
A variation of this method employs, before reflecting or introducing a variable capacitance onto a power line, these additional steps: 1) sensing in real time an amplitude of current on the power line; 2) detecting phase delay (such as by calculating phase delay of current relative to voltage) on the power line in conjunction with the current sense; 3) amplifying an output of the phase delay detection step; then 4) controlling a power factor correction power controller with the amplified output from step 3.
Another variation of this method employs, before reflecting or introducing a variable capacitance onto a power line, these additional steps: 1) sensing in real time an amplitude of current on a line between the power controller and the power factor correction capacitor; 2) amplifying an output of the current sense step; 3) controlling a power factor correction power controller with the amplified output.
The method of the invention in one aspect involves electronic power control by varying the amplitude of an electrical power supply voltage, independent of frequency, whereby the output frequency will always be the same as the input frequency. An electrical circuit apparatus for accomplishing this function in a preferred embodiment is also disclosed herein. The preferred circuitry of this aspect of the invention uses four solid state switches, such as IGBT""s, four diodes, an inductor, input and output filters and novel controlling circuitry. The controller apparatus and methods of the invention may be used to implement all otherwise conventional converter types, buck, boost, and inverting (and duals of these) versions to obtain different regulating characteristics, including galvanic isolation of the output from the input.
The inventive methods and devices may be used in power factor correction, voltage and/or current harmonic filtering and neutralization, line and load conditioning, improving or changing impedance characteristics of electrical generators, control of power transfer between two power grids, and programmable control of surges, sags, dropouts and most other voltage or power regulation problems.
In another aspect of the invention, a method of power factor correction is disclosed employing essentially the same control circuitry in a different application. In essence, a method as disclosed above, preferably employing the control circuitry referred to above, is used to dynamically control the voltage to (and therefore the reflected capacitance of) a single large capacitor (or several if one large enough is not available) that is continuously adjustable with vastly fewer parts than previously thought possible, and all at correction speeds of under 1 second. The circuit can interface between the power line and a PFC capacitor, and/or reactor. As the duty cycle D is varied, the reflected capacitance onto the power line is:
Crefl=D2*CPFC
Thus, the capacitor can be continuously controlled between 0 and its given value, and the corrective load presented to the power line can be continuously controlled between 0 and unity times the corrective load in direct connection to the line. If the power factor, or the phase delay, is measured, and fed into an appropriate error amplifier, such as will occur to those skilled in the art, then the control circuitry will automatically correct power factor, even approaching unity, with response time on the order of 0.1 seconds. No other method uses reflected capacitance via a variably controlled voltage source to achieve PFC.
The apparatus and method of the invention has no DC storage bank, unlike known converter and PFC correction devices, and only one device is actually conducting output current at any given moment. Furthermore, the turn off voltage varies with the instantaneous line voltage, and (for reactive loads) is at a maximum when output current is at a minimum. Thus, switching losses are dramatically lower than existing methods, and the power factor corrector disclosed has greater output capability and efficiency, and smaller size than known PFC methods.
The disclosed PFC method and apparatus can also be configured for three phase PFC for balanced loads by employing two units and three PFC capacitors. In another application, since the invention can vary reactive loads and impedances, it may also be used as a whole or part of a tunable circuit for mitigation of power line harmonic currents, with either manual or automatic tuning of the filter.
Yet another extension of the invention includes a relatively fast (several kilohertz or more) loop which is closed around either system (motor and PFC) current or device (invention) output (capacitor) current. The control circuitry can be made to reject and to some degree correct existing harmonic currents that arise from resonances in such systems. Power line harmonic currents are a widely recognized problem in electrical distribution systems.
This has great advantage over the common PFC technique where several different capacitors are switched in and out with thyristors or relays. The apparatus of the invention is simpler, smaller, cheaper, and more accurate, and more reliable. It also eliminates the system resonances associated with PFC capacitors.
This circuit has the advantage that each switch turns off only into the instantaneous input voltage. The voltage is clamped to that value by an appropriate freewheeling diode, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. In a nominal 240 VAC system, average turn off voltage in the circuit of the invention is about 220V, compared to existing systems, such as those employing a DC rail, where a clamp value might be as much as 500V, causing more than double the switching loss over the device of the invention. Thus the invention reduces switching losses to less than half of that common in known circuits, and with no clamp dissipation at all. A circuit with a snubber would require a capacitor so large that the snubber dissipation alone would be several times the total switching loss of the inventive device. The device of the invention reduces total switching losses dramatically over known devices, and this is particularly true while driving reactive loads, where peak line voltage and current are not in phase with each other. This phase separation normally leads to even higher losses in conventional devices. But since, as discussed above, switching loss is proportional to the product of frequency and voltage, this phase difference results in decreased switching losses in devices embodying the invention.
Further advantages are that reduced peak voltage results in lower EMI/RFI conducted to input and output; while reduced switching losses allow higher switching frequencies, saving size and weight in input and output filters. Another advantage is that any of several power device types may be successfully employed in the circuit, including bipolar, MOSFET, IGBT, GTO, and MCT devices. Topologies like those disclosed by others (Peterson for example) are not so versatile. Because all four switches in devices embodying the invention are on briefly at zero crossing of the voltage waveform, the current can flow in either direction during that transition without initiating a high voltage spike on the switches during that period. The resulting circuit is quieter, smaller, more efficient, and more reliable than existing treatments. It can handle voltage and current in either direction for true four quadrant operation and true bi-directional energy flow, with the small premium in extra control circuitry more than offset by savings in switch cost, heat sink size and weight, and mechanical size.